Abstract:
Neil Kane, an experienced entrepreneur and technology commercialization specialist, who is the MSU Director of Undergraduate Entrepreneurship, will directly address the differences in motivation and culture between scientists and entrepreneurs. A successful company will require expertise from both camps, and understanding each other's motivations is critical. Kane will then offer his “Nine Guiding Principles” for the successful commercialization of a research-derived innovation through a startup company.

Speaker Bio:
A leading authority on technology commercialization, entrepreneurship and innovation, he is the Director of Undergraduate Entrepreneurship at Michigan State University. Is former co-Executive Director of the Illinois Technology Enterprise Center at Argonne and was EIR at the University of Illinois. He was the founding CEO of several startup companies based on university research in areas such as nanotechnology and advanced materials.

He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois and an MBA from The University of Chicago. He attended graduate school at the Australian Graduate School of Management and studied in Japan on a scholarship from JETRO. Named a 2007 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, he twice attended their annual meeting in Davos. Recognized for Outstanding Entrepreneurship by NSF. Twice an invited witness on tech transfer for the U.S. House of Representative's Subcommittee on Research & Science Education. Contributor to Forbes.com.